Cats And Dogs Rain Down On County Building

Pets From Orange County Animal Services Are Making Weekly Visits To The Offices In The Hopes Of Finding Homes.

January 9, 1992|By Sandra Pedicini of The Sentinel Staff

There's quite a fuss being made over some new faces at the Orange County Administration building.

They seem to enjoy all the attention because their whiskers twitch happily as people stop to coo over them and scratch their ears.

These new visitors are dogs and cats that Orange County Animal Services workers are taking to the administration building on Rosalind Avenue in Orlando every Friday. Animal services workers hope that by placing dogs and cats in a prominent place like the county administration building, they will remind people of the animals available for adoption.

''Our idea is if they're right in front of your face, you'll be more likely to adopt them,'' said Orange County Chairman Linda Chapin, who first invited animal services to display the pets.

Some of the people who adopted the animals, such as Carole Stevens, already were thinking of getting a pet. She owned a female cat that she thought needed a companion.

''I'd been thinking, but I hadn't gotten near as far as watching the papers or anything,'' she said.

But then she saw Tucker, a black and white cat which seemed to have the same calm disposition as the cat she already owned. She took him home, and the two get along great - even though Tucker is a lot more active than he first seemed.

''He's a fireball,'' she said. ''He's got a lot of kitten in him.''

Then there are the ones like Terry Beckett, who hadn't been thinking about getting a pet but adopted Lily, a puppy who stole her heart immediately.

''I just came down here and saw these pets, and they're so wonderful,'' she said.''

The idea of taking animals to public places is similar to that of the Orlando Humane Society's Adopt-A-Pet days, in which animals are taken to a Gooding's supermarket once a month.

In a county where more than 8,400 dogs and cats were destroyed last year, animal services workers are happy to try a new way to get more of the animals adopted.

Animal Services holds dogs and cats for seven days after impounding them. If no one has expressed interest in them, they are usually destroyed. The animals considered more adoptable are sometimes sent over to the Humane Society shelter, where the animals can be kept for up to two months.

Animal Services workers say that taking the animals to public places means people will be more likely to adopt them. Potential pet owners can fill out the paperwork there instead of making a trip to the shelter on Americana Boulevard.

So far, it's seemed to work pretty well. Several animals have been adopted from in front of the administration building. And, says Animal Services senior officer Laurie Hearn, the cute faces have inspired some people to show up at the shelter.

After filling out an application and paying a fee of $37 for cats and $47 for dogs, people can take the dog or cat of their choice. All dogs and cats that are adopted must be spayed or neutered.

Both Chapin and animal services personnel would like to see Animal Services take dogs and cats to more sites in the county. But they are limited by the small number of staff members available to take the animals out and are looking for volunteers.